By Steve Fullan
GB Men's Fastpitch Team Manager
The GB Men's Fastpitch Team assembled in Sydney on February 20 and 21 for training and warm-up games in Australia, then moved on to Auckland, New Zealand on February 26 for more training and games before they open the ISF Men's Fastpitch World Championships on Friday morning, March 1 at 9.30 am (8.30 pm on Thursday evening British time) with a game against Samoa.
All games played by the GB Men at the World Championships will be web-streamed, and for details on how to follow the team throughout the tournament, click here.
Starting slowly
The GB men began their quest for World Championship glory in Camden, Sydney on February 20 with some light training. The rest of the team arrived on February 21 and there was more light training followed by a game in the evening against the New South Wales Under-19 Team, whose roster was supplemented with around seven senior state players.
This provided some tough competition for Team GB and the end result was a 4-3 loss, with James Darby and Mark Elson sharing the pitching duties.
The following night, the GB Men faced the MacArthur All-Stars, a roster once again filled with New South Wales senior state players, and GB came out on the losing end 3-0.
The next night was meant to be a grand opening at the local fields in Camden, with the State Minister of Sport opening the field's new floodlights. But Mother Nature had different ideas and torrential rain forced the game to be cancelled. This meant the GB team had to shift to indoor training for the next two days before departing for Auckland on Monday, February 25.
Training games
A few of the players who were not in Sydney finally joined the rest of the GB Team in Torbay, Auckland on February 25, which was used as a travel and rest day – plus it allowed the team members to catch up, since many hadn't seen each other since the European Championships last July.
On Tuesday, February 26, the team had training from 11.00 am at the Sharks Sports Club at Victor Eves Park in Orewa, Auckland, with two games to follow at 5.00 and 7.00 pm. The training included an inter-squad scratch match and frisbee rugby.
After a break , GB played two games against the local Pirates All-Star Team. It was a beautiful clear evening, and the first game turned into a real morale-booster, with a 7-3 victory that featured two centre field home runs by Luke Peters, good for six RBIs, and a single each for James Chalmers and James Darby.
The second game started with the first six batters for GB getting hits, including Kenny Pregnell's three-run home run over the left field fence, culminating in a five-run lead after the first inning. GB added another run in the third, while James Darby dominated the opposition, racking up eight strikeouts.
But following a pitching change, the Pirates came back into the game, and Jason Gerber's two-run home run eventually tied the game for the home team.
Following a post-game meal in the clubhouse, there was a small presentation to the GB Team, and a Pirates jersey embroidered with New Zealand and British flags along with the date was accepted by GB player Michael Lee on behalf of the team and the British Softball Federation. In return, a BSF pennant was presented for the clubhouse wall.
Another win
Up next for Team GB on Wednesday, March 27 was training followed by two games at the Mt Albert Ramblers Club, with the opponents in the first game featuring ex-GB players such as Steve Jackson, Roger Marshman, Clive Evans, Johnny Rueben and Steve Tau.
GB won this game comfortably by a score of 11-6, with Kenny Pregnell and Luke Peters both hitting home runs -- and Kenny's was off ex-GB pitcher Steve Jackson.
The second game, against an Auckland United Under-19 Team, was called due to bad light with the score at 1-1 tie after extra innings.